Tree Island makes for a perfect ½ day sea kayak trip

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

Tree Island (or Sandy Island as it is sometimes known) is located off the northern tip of Denman Island and makes a perfect half day paddle (or longer if you plan to explore the island or want to linger). We do the trip on an annual basis and we usually launch at the Union Bay Boat launch.  This makes it easy to launch your kayak since you can drive right to the water’s edge and there is a large car park for your vehicle.  Be sure to drop your launch fee money in the box. From here you can’t quite see Tree Island but as soon as you take a few paddle strokes out of the harbour it looms 4.4 km in the distance.

                                                   Heather enjoying the vistas from Tree Island

 But on this occasion we decided to try out the Argyle Road public access (49 36' 50" N 124 54' 10" W) which makes the drive down from Courtenay abit shorter but more importantly it is the closest launch point we have been able to find to Tree Island. Instead of the 4.4 km crossing from Union Bay our GPS showed a distance of about 3.5 km one way from Argyle Road which meant we could do the paddle in about 45-50 minutes. The big down side of the Argyle Road access is that parking is limited and it is more of a homemade boat launch over rounded cobbles etc so a high clearance vehicle is handy. Or you can use a kayak caddy with wheels to get your kayak to the water’s edge like we did.  However no matter which launch point you use it is an open water crossing so you want to factor in the weather and wave conditions and be competent at doing a self rescue if you run into trouble. 

                              Tree Island is well named and is just off the northern tip of Denman Island

     On August 15 the wind forecast was for light NE winds which made for a very pleasant trip to Tree Island since the breeze was in our face keeping us cool. The tide was 3.4 meters when we set out which meant had to walk our kayaks out some distance before we could launch them-however when we returned it had risen to 4.4 meters so had a much shorter carry to take out.  Once on Tree Island we had a quick lunch and enjoyed the great vistas back to Vancouver Island. There are also some short hiking trails for those that want to explore the island but due to the heat on this day we opted to walk the beach where it was cooler.  Allow about 45-50 minutes each way for paddling depending on wind and wave conditions from Argyle Road – add 15 minutes each way if you use the Union Bay launch location. Just one more note if you do use the Argyle Road access- be sure to note where to paddle back to from Tree Island. Once on Tree Island opposite shore line looks very much the same and so record your track or a waypoint at the launch point so you know where to head to your return trip. We used our Trailforks app to record our route and this helped us get back on track when we were heading back and got slightly off course. We usually use the Trailforks app for locating mountain bike trails but it can be used for other activities as well. For more info see:https://www.trailforks.com/     See you on the water.

 

Checking out the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR) in North Vancouver

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Vancouver has some nice cycling routes through Stanley Park and the Seawall which we love doing when we visit Vancouver. But on our last visit we decided to check out the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve in North Vancouver. Here there are many hiking trails and a popular destination for hikers is Rice Lake. But on this trip our main goal was cycling the 10 km road that is turns out to be a real destination when it comes to cycling. And for good reason – it is a paved road with No cars that winds  through the forest so is shady and cool on warm summer days like we had on Saturday , August 3. Our group was doing various activities and we had 2 people pushing a baby carriage, a runner and 2 cyclists and the trailway was ideal for all three since it is so wide. 

                      Son Michael and his daughter (she is checking out the tall trees) cycling at the LSCR

We were able to find parking at the main parking lot where there are washrooms and we were floored by the number of cyclists that we passed on the access road that were heading to do this 10 km in and out route.  The cycling route is rolling and has some pull outs with picnic tables and also some speed control sections to keep people on their side of the road. We saw everything from ebikes to road bikes to mountain bikes on this route and even some roller skiers getting ready for the upcoming ski season. At the end of our cycle we had a picnic lunch at one of the tables in the forest near the main parking lot. Check this place out if you like to hike or cycle. To locate the main parking lot we put in LSCR parking lot into google maps and for more info see : www.metrovancouver.org

                              The 10 km wide paved road with NO cars is a perfect cycling destination on a hot summer day 

Try the Decker Loop on Blackcomb for a stellar alpine hiking experience

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

A few weeks ago we posted a blog about what a great deal the sightseeing season pass is at Whistler Blackcomb (http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2024/07/checking-out-whistler-blackcomb.html) and on August 1 we decided to use our passes to check out the Decker hiking Loop on Blackcomb. It is roughly a 10 km hike and took us about 3 and ½ hours which included stops for lunch and numerous pictures. It is the longest marked trail hike on Blackcomb and on this day we walked past numerous areas of wild flowers and the final section provides great vistas of Overlord Glacier and the surrounding mountain peaks. We started on the Alpine Loop and then branched off on the Overlord Trail which took us to the Decker Loop. We did the loop in a clockwise direction but we saw people hiking it both ways. We really appreciated the fact that the trails are well marked with signage at all trail junctions. 

                                                     The Decker Loop offers superb vistas

 We could have taken some alternate routes back by hiking the Marmot Trail or the Lakeside Loop but we opted to return via the same route we hiked in on. The other trails would have added distance and elevation to our hike  (as it was we gained over 500 meters of elevation on our hike)  but we were meeting other hikers on Whistler so were under a time constraint. On our next visit we hope to do some of the longer alpine hiking trails on Whistler. For more info on hiking at Whistler in the summer see: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com

                                           Hiking along the Decker Loop - looking toward Whistler Mtn